**Update**Oregon hosts Bangladesh during State Partnership Program Workshop**Update**

SALEM, Ore. -- The Oregon National Guard is hosting senior members of the Bangladeshi military during the State Partnership Program Workshop, Mar. 8-11, in Portland, Ore.

The workshop is designed to foster mutual interests and establish long-term relationships between Oregon and Bangladesh. Some of the topics covered during this workshop will be airport security, maritime port security, higher education and business opportunities.

Other dignitaries attending this historic event are James F. Moriarty, U.S. Ambassador to Bangladesh; Akramul Qader, Bangladeshi Ambassador to the United States; and Gen. Craig R. McKinley, Chief of the National Guard Bureau.

Oregon Governor, Ted Kulongoski, is scheduled to have an audience with both ambassadors before attending portions of the workshop.

Senior leaders in the Oregon National Guard, including Maj. Gen. Raymond F. Rees, The Adjutant General, are taking the Bangladeshi military members on a tour of Oregon, including the Oregon Military Department, Anderson Readiness Center and Army Aviation Support Facility in Salem; the Portland Air National Guard Base in Portland, Ore., and Kingsley Field in Klamath Falls prior to the workshop.

The group is scheduled to meet with directors and staff at the Port of Portland, Portland International Airport, and Portland State University. Event organizers say the tours will allow the visitors to get a good grasp of Oregon's military resources, in addition to civilian, business, and educational offerings in the state.

The State Partnership Program currently provides 61 partnerships between states and nations. The program continues to grow, and is endorsed at both the National Guard Bureau level and the State Department.

Photo:

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Willis L. Van Dusen, Astoria Mayor, greets Maj. Gen. Abdul Wadud, Principal Staff Officer of Armed Forces Division, Bangladesh, during a tour of Camp Rilea, Ore., March 8. The visit is part of a week long tour designed to foster relations between the Oregon National Guard and the Bangladesh military through the State Partnership Program. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. 1st Class Kevin Hartman, Oregon Military Department Public Affairs Office)